


A Guide to Understanding the Mysterious Terms of (Harry Potter) Fanfiction

by Diademe



Series: The Lexica of Harry Potter Fanfiction Terms [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dictionary, Encyclopedia, Explanations, Glossary, Guide, Harry Potter - Freeform, Help, Lexicon - Freeform, Newbies, Rookies, Terminology, Terms in Fanfiction, Understanding Fanfiction, abbreviations, helpful, introduction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:48:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22351348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diademe/pseuds/Diademe
Summary: Hey, you!Are you new to reading fanfiction and struggle to understand some of the terms and abbreviations? Do you know the difference between OC and OOC? And what the hell is an AU?I composed this work in order to help rookies (and perhaps old stagers, as well) understand new terms, explaining abbreviations an common terms of fanfiction.Just browse through it. For quich search, use Strg+F and enter the term you search for.TBC, WIP
Series: The Lexica of Harry Potter Fanfiction Terms [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1608946





	A Guide to Understanding the Mysterious Terms of (Harry Potter) Fanfiction

**Author's Note:**

> When I began to read fanfiction several years ago, I had trouble understanding special terms, and would have wished for such a guide. Over the years, I accumulated knowledge of abbreviations etc. and now decided to share it with others.
> 
> This work is part of a threepart series. However, these work do not differ in content, but in language. This guide will be available in English and German and maybe French as well. Choose the language which suits you best!  
> Most of the words and abbreviations in fanfiction are based on English. There are very few words from other languages, therefore an understanding of English is quite useful for comprehending e. g. the background of why a word was chosen to express certain things.
> 
> As I cannot possibly include every single term found on websites such as Ao3, this work will never comprise every detail you might want. In that case (if you are in need of further explanations of (a) specific term(s)), please google the term and/or consult other websites explaining it in greater detail.
> 
> You feel I've forgotten a term or an important aspect? Type a comment or send me a private message :)

**AN** , **A/N** \- Author's Note

Usually found at the beginning or end of a chapter, if the author wants to explain or add something that is not supposed to be part of the story, for example something about his Real Life, on reasons why he or she did not update etc. Not very apppreciated by readers when they stumble upon it in the middle of a chapter.

 _see also:_ RL

**Alpha-Beta-Omega-Stories** , **Alpha/Beta/Omega-Stories** , **ΑΒΩ-Stories**

Represent a certain type of world order in a fanfiction, dominated by Alphas. Alpha personas are mostly dominating and possessive, whereas Omegas are submissive and subordinate to "their" Alpha. Related to Master/Slave Stories, which are often found in a Voldemort!Wins-Universe.

Betas tend to appear more seldomly, being "normal" persons.

 _see also:_ DubCon

Animalised, Animalized ???????

**AR** \- Alternate Reality

**AT** \- Alternate Timeline

**AU** \- Alternate Universe

* * *

**BadFic**

A fanfiction which is bad. Really bad. Bad grammar, basically no logic, Mary Sues, an annoying author ... (continue imagining the worst you can imagine). Might also be intended as a parody. Don't like, don't read.

 _see also:_ DLDR, Gary Sue, Mary Sue

**Beta Reader**

Someone who is proofreading an author's story or chapter before publication, making annotations or editing grammar, spelling or checking the logic in a story.

* * *

**Canon**

_see also:_ Off-Canon ?????????????

**CC - Canon Compliant**

**Challenge**

**Cliffhanger**

**Contraction**

Terms designating a romantic pairing of two characters or a specific relationship, respectively. Some abbreviations are more known than others, some pairings have more than one or slightly differing names.

Example: Billdora (Bill/Tonks), Dramione (Draco/Hermione), Drarry (Draco/Harry), Grindledore (Grindelwald/Dumbledore), Hinny (Harry/Ginny), Huna (Harry/Luna), Jily (James/Lily), Marthur (Molly/Arthur), Romione (Ron/Hermione), Snarry (Snape/Harry)... Special cases: Red Moon (Ron/Luna), Wolfstar (Remus/Tonks) and Drapple (Drace/an apple)

Did you know?: Severitus (Snape/Harry) marks stories with a familyship (!), very often, Snape is a mentor and/or father figure to Harry

 _see also:_ Ship

**Crack!Fic** , **Crack-Fic** , **Crackfic**

 _see also:_ Fic, FF, !

**Crossover**

* * *

**DarkFic, Dark!Fic**

**DLDR** \- Don't Like, Don't Read (It)

**DM, PM** \- direct message, private message

**Drabble**

**Dubcon** , **Dub-Con** , **Dub Con** \- Dubious Consent

* * *

**EWE** \- Epilogue, what Epilogue?, Epilogue? What Epilogue?

A story disregarding the Epilogue (e. g. "Nineteen Years Later"), but being otherwise canon-compliant (taking into account the rest of "Deathly Hallows"). An author might choose to write such a story because he or she did not like the original epilogue and wanted to change it.

* * *

**Fandom**

**Fanon**

**FemSlash**

_see also:_ Slash

**FF** \- Fanfiction, Fan Fiction, Fanfic

 _see also:_ Fic, Crack!Fic ??????

**Fic** \- Fanfiction, Fan Fiction, Fanfic, FF

 _see also:_ FF

**Ficlet**

Flames ?????????????

**Flashback**

**Fluff**

**Foreshadowing**

* * *

**Gary Stu**

An impossibly perfect Original Male Character, extremely annoying.

 _see also:_ Mary Sue, Larry, Stu, OMC

* * *

**Head Canon** , **Headcanon**

**Het** \- Hetero

 _see opposite:_ Slash, Femslash

**Hiatus**

Humanised, Humanized ??????????

**H &C**, **H/C** \- Hurt/Comfort

* * *

**IC** \- in character

 _see opposite:_ OOC

* * *

**Larry Stu**

An impossibly perfect Original Male Character, extremely annoying.

 _see also:_ Gary Stu, Mary Sue, OMC

**Lemon**

_see also:_ Lime, Smut

**Lime**

_see also:_ Lemon, Smut

* * *

**Mary Sue**

An impossibly perfect Original Female Character, extremely annoying.

 _see also:_ Gary Stu, Larry Stu, OFC

**MC** \- Multi Chapter

MMFF ------------ German term Mitmach Fanfiction ????????????

**MPreg** \- Male Pregnancy

* * *

**NextGen** , **Next-Gen** \- Next Generation

**NonCon** , **Non-Con** \- Non-Consensual

* * *

**OC** \- Own Character, Original Character

 _see also:_ OFC, OMC

**OFC** \- Own Female Character, Original Female Charater

 _see also:_ OC, OMC

**Offcanon** , **Off-Canon**

**OMC** \- Own Male Character, Original Male Character

 _see also:_ OC, OFC

**OOC** \- Out Of Character

**OS** \- Oneshot, One-Shot

A fanfiction consisting of only one (possibly long) chapter. If a oneshot is enhanced (thus, it uses it status as a Oneshot), it is called a Twoshot, Threeshot or Fourshot. Anything more than Four is uncommon.

* * *

**Pairing**

see also Ship?????????, Shipping ???????

**PM** \- Private Message, Private Messaging, Personal Message, Personal Messaging

**POV** \- Point of View

**Prompt**

**PWP** \- Plot What Plot, Plot? What Plot?, Porn Without Plot

* * *

**Rating**

**Reviews**

**RL** \- Real Life

**RTB** \- Reading The Books

**R &R** \- Read and Review, Rate and Review

* * *

**Self-Shipping**

A story in which the reader takes part in a romantic relationship with another character.

 _see also:_ Y/N

**Ship, Shipping, Shipper** \- Relationship

 _see also:_ Pairing, /, &

**Slash**

_see also:_ FemSlash

**Smut**

_see also:_ Lemon, Lime

**SongFic**

**Spoiler**

Not to be confused with Foreshadowing.

* * *

**TBC** \- To Be Continued, To Be Completed

**TL????????? - Timeline**

_see also:_ TT, TWT

**Trigger**

**TT** \- Timetravel, Time Travel

**TWT** \- Time what Time?, Time? What Time?

 _see also:_ Timeline

* * *

**WIP** \- Work in Progress

* * *

**Y/N** \- Your Name, YN, yn, Reader Insert

Specifies a certain type of fanfiction where the reader is part of a story, and the author lets the reader insert her/his name in the places marked "Y/N". A relationship with Y/N is most often heterosexual.

 _see also:_ Self-Shipping

* * *

**&** \- Ampersand

Used between the names of two characters to indicate a relation of the type "friendship".

 _see also:_ /

**/** \- Slash, Diagonal Slash

Used between the names of two characters - or more - to indicate a (romantic) relationship. May also be used to indicate a more platonic relation, though "&" would be more appropriate.

 _see also:_ &

**!** \- exclamation mark

An exclamation mark (most often between two adjoined words) is intended as a warning for the reader an author might want to add to warn people about e. g. triggers.

Examples: Dark!Harry (in this story, Harry is a dark wizard), Death!Fic (quite often, lots of (major) characters die)

 _see also:_ DarkFic, Trigger

Will possibly be included (still to decide):

P***

R***

Set-Up and Pay-Off, Red Herrings and Checkhov’s Gun, Deus ex machina

**Author's Note:**

> Disclamer: I do not claim the idea of composing a Fanfiction Term Dictionary. Furthermore, I do and did not intend to infringe any author's rights or steal stories (or rather lexica) that already exist.


End file.
